1973–74 Buffalo Sabres season

Offseason

NHL Draft

Round	Pick	Player and Position	Nationality	College/Junior/Club Team
1	12.	Morris Titanic (LW)		Sudbury Wolves (OHA)

Regular season

Season standings

East Division	GP	W	L	T	Pts	GF	GA	PIM
Boston Bruins	78	52	17	9	113	349	221	968
Montreal Canadiens	78	45	24	9	99	293	240	761
New York Rangers	78	40	24	14	94	300	251	782
Toronto Maple Leafs	78	35	27	16	86	274	230	903
Buffalo Sabres	78	32	34	12	76	242	250	787
Detroit Red Wings	78	29	39	10	68	255	319	917
Vancouver Canucks	78	24	43	11	59	224	296	952
New York Islanders	78	19	41	18	56	182	247	1075

Tim Horton

Early on the morning of February 21 1974, while driving on the Queen Elizabeth Way from Toronto to Buffalo in his white De Tomaso Pantera sports car, (a gift from Sabres' GM George "Punch" Imlach), Horton was involved in what is now an infamous accident. He was negotiating a curve on the QEW where it crosses over Twelve Mile Creek in St. Catharines when he lost control and hit a cement culvert. The impact flipped the vehicle and Horton was thrown. He was not wearing a seat belt. Horton was reported dead on arrival at the local hospital, aged only 44. A police officer pursuing Horton's vehicle said that he had been travelling at over 160 km/h (100 mph).

There were reports Horton had consumed a considerable amount of vodka, and was rumoured to have been taking pain killers due to a jaw injury suffered in practice the day before. An autopsy report released in 2005 showed Horton had a blood alcohol level of twice the legal limit. The blood test also showed signs of amobarbital, which was possibly a residue from the Dexamyl pills that were found on Horton's body. The autopsy showed no indication Horton was taking painkillers as previously thought.

Player stats

Forwards

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM

Defencemen

Note: GP= Games played; G= Goals; AST= Assists; PTS = Points; PIM = Points

Player	GP	G	AST	PTS	PIM

Goaltending

Note: GP= Games played; W= Wins; L= Losses; T = Ties; SO = Shutouts; GAA = Goals Against

Player	GP	W	L	T	SO	GAA

Playoffs

Awards and records

• Rick Martin, Left Wing, NHL First Team All-Star

References

• Sabres on Hockey Database